di·a·chron·ic (adj.): Of or concerned with phenomena as they change through time.
par·a·digm (noun): A typical example or pattern; an example serving as a model.

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Romney's Interesting Point

I'm relieved. I was curious - things were neck-in-neck for awhile: Sometimes Obama was ahead; other times Romney was ahead.

I happened across a really interesting video of Romney earlier today, given in 2007 when Romney was being interviewed at a radio station in Des Moines. I've seen or heard a couple speeches and interviews Romney gave, and I had little opinion of his speaking abilities one way or the other.

Yet in this interview, Romney really had some interesting things to say. While the constant interrupting on both sides irritated me, Romney accurately described how I tend to feel of abortion, and how I wish my own church would respond to abortion: "The [LDS] church does not say that a member of our church has to be opposed to allowing choice in society. It says, 'Look, we are vehemently opposed to abortion ourselves, and for ourselves. But we allow other people to make their own choice."

My disagreement kicks in with his statment that he disagrees with that view: "Politically, I looked at it. I said, 'You know what? That's wrong.' And it's not a Mormon thing. It's a secular position to say we should have as a society in the following circumstances. But it's not violating my faith."

For me, like with Romney, it's as much as secular position as it is a religious position: Such strong personal beliefs are religious, but putting them into practice needs to be secular. The best way to reduce the number of abortions is education: The more education people have, and the more access they have to contraceptives (which I am also in disgreement with my own church about), the fewer abortions there will be - if men and women alike are allowed to choose for themselves the best time to have children.

But I'd never heard a politician say anything close to what Romney said before, and I wish I had heard Romney (or Obama, for that matter) say more things like that.